$40k Desktop Factory Competition

Inventables, the Kauffman Foundation and Maker Faire announced the launch of The Desktop Factory Competition - each team is required to design an open source machine capable of making plastic resin pellets fit for use in a low cost 3D printer.

The purpose of this competition is to drive down the cost of filament by creating a new filament extruder. By creating such a new machine the organizers seek to make the filament price drop from around US$50/kg to around $5.

The first one who uploads a solution will be the winner -The first team/person to build an open source filament extruder for less than $250 in components can take ABS or PLA resin pellets, mix them with colorant, and extrude a 1.75mm +/- .01mm filament that can be used in a 3D printer is declared the winner.

The Reward - The winning team will receive $40,000 from the Kauffman Foundation and a Desktop Fabrication Lab (a 3D printer, an FS Laser Cutter, and a Shapeoko CNC Mill).